On Being a Porteño

Walking is always my preferred mode of getting from point A to B. This is never more true than when I am in cities. For me, the many people are individual expressions of a place. A popular billboard displayed around Buenos Aires reads, “Cada Persona es un Mundo,” which translates to “Every Person is a World.” This phrase rings true as I watch a little boy sit next to me in the park and roll his car up and down the planks on our bench, or the vegetable vendor laying out his tomatoes with such care that I look back to be sure that he isn’t actually handling eggs. In our motives, our daily tasks, and our personalities, we are incredibly complex and distinct. 

But, in observing people, there are also similar patterns and repeated behaviors that stand out. The common ways people dress, walk, talk, or behave leaves a cultural impression. It takes time, and lots of observation, to really know a culture through the people. And just as I have spent many hours watching them, I too have been observed. 

Often, I have been asked where I am from before I even open my mouth. However, today I had a break through while standing at a corner waiting for the light to change. A man stopped and asked me if I knew where the train station was. I looked up the street, pointed to it, and answered in Spanish. He thanked me and headed for the entrance. Not more than 20 seconds later, an older woman approached and asked if I knew where the Librería was. I told her I didn’t know. 

Then she asked, “De donde eres?” 

I told I was from the United States and she laughed and gave my forearm a squeeze.

“Ah, Soorry,” she said.

I answered that it was no problem. Had there been time, I would have jubilantly explained, “You actually made my day. You thought I was one of you.” 

The Puerto Madero
which is why residents are known as Porteños

Instead I looked down at my arms. Yes, they have been browned by the summer sun. Also, Marisa has grown quite adept at navigating our route around the city by memory. We are no longer searching each corner for a street sign and squinting over our laminated map. At least at a glance, we are passing as porteños (the name given to people living in Buenos Aires). 

But perhaps it is not just the tan and our familiarity with the streets. It may be that I, myself, am no longer such a wide-eyed observer. Just as they are coming to know me, I am learning to recognize them.  Though the city is made up of almost 3 million individuals, here is what I have inferred of their common culture.

1. Walking is a leisurely activity. The sidewalks of Buenos Aires are generally crowded and sometimes very narrow. Still, people of all ages walk slowly taking time to chat with friends coming the opposite direction. If you can’t get around to the front of the crowd at the street light, fall into line and take it in slow stride.
2. Remember to suck your soda. Coca Cola is the beverage of choice. You see adults and children drinking it in the park, on the street, or even at the cafes. However, they don’t just swig from the bottle. They sip it through a straw.
3. Don’t baby the baby. There are lots of babies all over the city (and many pregnant mamas too). However, I have not spotted a single baby carrier (the kind that doubles as a car seat) and only a handful of Baby Bjorns (the front-loading baby backpack). Most babies, even the really tiny ones, are simply carried in arm through the busy and often dirty streets.
4. Watch out for the rise and fall. There is a very distinctive rise to the women’s pants in in Buenos Aires. They tend to be on both extremes of a spectrum--the too-short rise that  leaves no part of the female anatomy to the imagination and the ultra-long rise that looks like a penguin.
5. Fútbol is the Argentinian basketball. After work many of the young men go to the soccer fields to play. There is rivalry and camaraderie--what you might expect to see on a basketball court in the U.S. And the game is not just for the players. Pack a picnic dinner and watch the game unfold field-side. 
6. Why hug when we can kiss? The Argentinians are very demonstrative with their affections. There is the beso that you give upon meeting a friend, and then there are the besos between couples that can be spotted in almost any park and on many street corners. Though the smooching is sometimes a bit much, for the most part it's nice to see how free people feel to express their love, or lust. In the unlikely event that a couple should desire a little more privacy, they can be quite resourceful. Hiding beneath a picnic tablecloth is one method. But my favorite kiss, so far, took place in plain sight. Here's how it unfolded. Woman waits on corner. Light changes and man crosses the street, making a beeline for her. Before even saying hello, man takes woman's face and plants passionate kiss on her lips. Oh, to be kissed like that.